Eleven Organizations to participate in accreditation program.
Press Release Summary:
ANSI's pilot Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP) will provide neutral, third-party accreditation that given certificate program meets ASTM E2659-09, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs. By demonstrating compliance to this standard, certificate programs will further development of well-educated and qualified workforce. Accreditation program is also expected to provide quality benchmarks for design of future certificate programs.
Original Press Release:
Eleven Organizations Chosen to Participate in ANSI's Pilot Certificate Accreditation Program
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system, is pleased to announce the eleven organizations that have been chosen for the Institute's pilot Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP).
ANSI-CAP will provide neutral, third-party accreditation that a given certificate program meets ASTM E2659-09, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs. This American National Standard developed by ASTM International was selected by the ANSI-CAP Accreditation Committee, a group of volunteer leaders who were chosen for their expertise in the field. By demonstrating compliance to this standard, certificate programs will further the development of a well-educated and qualified workforce. The accreditation program is also expected to provide quality benchmarks for the design of future certificate programs. With these evaluations and benchmarks in place, workers and employers will be better able to determine the value and meaning of training and educational certificates.
The following organizations that issue education and/or training certificates to U.S. workers have been accepted to participate in the pilot program:
EdTrek, Inc.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Behavioral Science Unit (BSU)
Federal Employee Benefits Specialist, Inc. (FEBSI)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), Division of Human Resource Development (DHRD)
HVACReducation.net
National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI)
National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA)
National Graduate School & University of Quality Systems Management (NGS/U)
SCIPP International
Sullivan University
U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center (USACR/SC)
"ANSI is pleased to welcome these eleven certificate-issuing organizations into the ANSI-CAP pilot - truly a diverse mix of certificate programs across a broad array of industries," said Lane Hallenbeck, vice president of accreditation services at ANSI. "Through their participation in the pilot, these organizations are demonstrating their commitment to the continual improvement of their certificate programs, helping to boost the confidence of consumers and employers who rely on education and training certificates nationwide."
ANSI-CAP will follow the accreditation process outlined in the international standard ISO/IEC 17011, General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies. This process includes using specially trained assessors to review documents submitted by applicants against defined requirements, conduct on-site assessments, and make recommendations to the ANSI-CAP Accreditation Committee that is responsible for making the accreditation decisions.
"With certificate programs becoming such an important part of education and training today, it only follows that a quality accreditation program is needed to secure the integrity of these important certificates," said Tom Davisson, senior vice president of the Sullivan University System. "Sullivan is thrilled to be part of this pilot project and is eager to begin gaining this important accreditation for the certificate programs we offer our students."
"For far too long, tremendous confusion has existed regarding the relative values and differences between various cybersecurity-related awareness and training certificates," said Dow Williamson, executive director of SCIPP International. "This new ANSI program helps clarify the confusion for consumers of these certificates. SCIPP International is very excited and honored to be participating in this pilot program to help solve this long-standing industry requirement."
The first round of ANSI-CAP accreditation decisions are expected to be made in early 2010. ANSI will host a follow-up meeting in January 2010 for the purpose of further validating the standard and determining areas of improvement for the accreditation process.
Questions about ANSI-CAP can be directed to Dr. Roy Swift, ANSI senior director, personnel credentialing accreditation programs (rswift@ansi.org; 202.331.3617).
Both standards that will guide the ANSI Certificate Accreditation Program - ASTM E2659-09 and ISO/IEC 17011 - are available for purchase on the ANSI eStandards Store at webstore.ansi.org.
